Three Symphonettes

The Symphonettes was a short-lived name for the Bennett Sisters Trio that sang for several years with Clyde McCoy's band beginning in 1936. Their family name was Means, and they emphatically did not want to be called the Means Sisters. They chose Bennett because of the popularity of actress Constance Bennett. The Bennett Sisters' real names were: Maxine Means, Charlie Bell Means, Marguerite Means. As the Bennett Sisters they played in vaudeville and broadcast nightly on radio in 1935. While performing in Chicago they heard that Clyde McCoy was looking for a girl singer, so they traveled to Memphis to audition. He hired them as a trio, and when their sister Billie Jane graduated high school they became a quartet. They performed for many years with Clyde McCoy, appearing on stage, radio and Decca records. McCoy took his band into the Navy in 1942. Upon his discharge he married Maxine, while Maxine's sister Charlie Bell married another Navy musician, William L. Waller. After the war, McCoy formed a new, larger orchestra and featured the "Bennett" youngest sister Billie Jane. They can be heard on a few of McCoy's Decca records, including "Don't Look Now," "Ya Got Me" and "Love Can Do The Darndest Things."